Guess Who's Coming to Donner?
by Sittingduck1313
Summary: Caught between a rock and a hard place, Timothy Donner betrays his partner and makes a deal he may regret. New chapter up with The Magnificent Seven Plus Two.
1. Chapter 1

Firefly is the property of Joss Whedon, blah blah blah. You know the drill.

Beta reading courtesy of Guildsister and Apollo. Reviews are welcome.

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_The deepest circle of hell is reserved for betrayers and mutineers._- Captain Jack Sparrow

Timothy Donner examined the coding that was the A.I. program he had acquired just a couple of weeks ago. When the contact within Blue Sun he knew only as Johnson had first told him about it, Donner had been indifferent. It was the sort of loot he wouldn't have normally handled. The A.I. was Unique, and Unique was notoriously impossible to fence, as those morons who had stolen the Lassiter were probably learning. Since Donner only stole for profit, it had been near the bottom of his list of priorities.

Then Warren came to him with her slightly crazy scheme. For it to properly work, the A.I. would be practically required. Deciding to take Johnson up on his offer, Donner contacted him and made the necessary arrangements.

Donner had studied both the program and the notes Johnson had provided. Though he understood enough to make use of the A.I., there were still a few bits of coding which were beyond Donner's comprehension. While it wouldn't get in the way of Warren's scheme, such unknowns bothered him.

Donner's thoughts were interrupted by a pounding at his apartment door. Uneasy at someone calling at this late hour, he grabbed his 9mm pistol. Looking through the peephole, he was surprised to see Johnson there. Letting him in, Donner asked"What the hell are you doing here? I recall us agreeing to never to meet face-to-face for our own safety."

"Screw that" Johnson ranted. "If I had never told you about the A.I., this wouldn't be happening"

"You're getting all worked up over a shakedown" Donner asked. "Blue Sun has done that many a-time and you've always weathered them. What's different now"

"Well the go se really hit the fan when the brass learned the A.I. had been swiped" Johnson explained. "This wasn't the usual kind of shakedown. This time, they sent these eerie-ass kids that I swear could look into your mind. I was lucky they didn't do me first. Gave me a chance to think my way through. Turns out those old stories are true and they can be confounded if you concentrate on number patterns. But it made them suspicious and I had to call in some favors to get out."

Once he managed to sort through all the blithering, Donner inquired"What are the chances you could be traced here by Company Men"

Johnson's eyes widened as if considering the implications. "I used my identicard as little as I could. That's why I came to you. I need you to forge me a new identicard. I can pay plenty." And with that he plopped down a sizable quantity of platinum.

Donner blinked at the amount. It was significantly more than he would have normally charged for such a service. But with the way Johnson was inconveniencing him, Donner felt no need to bring that up. "I can have it ready in a few minutes. Anything else"

"Would you happen to know someone who could alter my face"

"I'd go for Doc Simpson. He'll charge an arm and a leg, but he ain't no quack, he's quick, and he's discrete."

Once given his new identicard, Johnson asked"Could you escort me to this Doc Simpson"

"Now hold on" Donner interrupted. "There are some things where there ain't enough money to get me to do. Tangling with Company Men is one of them. But just to get you off my case, I think I can convince Eagle Eye Louie to do it. He'll need paying though."

Donner led Johnson down a flight of stairs to Eagle Eye Louie's apartment. Once he responded to Donner's knock, Louie asked"Gorramit Donner, what are you waking me at this hour for"

"Got a friend who wants to make an appointment with Doc Simpson, but he's a bit scared of his own shadow."

Louie grunted and replied "Okay, I'll take him. But it'll cost two hundred platinum." Johnson spluttered indignantly, but handed over the money anyway.

Once they were gone, Donner considered his situation. While Eagle Eye Louie had a reputation which might give even Company Men second thoughts about attacking him, the same couldn't be said for Donner. Certain that Company Men would come for him, he decided he'd have to leave Cronus earlier than scheduled. Donner returned to his apartment long enough to grab his duffle bag and to strap on his concealed holster before slipping out the serivce entrance. As he weaved through the side streets of Wasatch to lose any pursuit, Donner used his portable Cortex link to send a Wave to Warren explaining about his imminent arrival on the Hunley.

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_three months later_

Donner was doing the crossword in an old issue of Cortex Programming Monthly when the buzzer which signalled a ship docking with the tunnelled out asteroid's airlock went off. A surveillance camera confirmed that it was the Hunley. It really couldn't have been any other ship, since the airlock was nearly impossible to locate unless you knew what to look for. Still, like any competent hacker, Donner possessed an acute sense of paranoia.

When Donner arrived in the loading area, the airlock was already open. Out stepped his partner Victoria Warren. She was a tall swarthy woman in her late sixties, though the hunch in her back had taken away some of her previous height. There were hints that she once was quite striking, but Father Time had slapped her silly with the Ugly Stick. "So, what sort of goodies did you bring" Donner asked.

"Enough provisions to last us for a few months" Warren replied. "And your contacts finally delivered on the two security bots we ordered. You got the programming done yet"

"Not quite" said Donner. "I wanted to find out what sort of armament they'd have first so recoil can be properly calculated in the targeting routine."

"We're in luck on that score" stated Warren. "Monty stumbled over a forgotten Independent weapon cache not too long ago. Sold me a pair of Callahan L-60 light machine guns in good working order and plenty of ammo to go with them for a nice discount. Now let's get to work. Those supplies ain't unloading themselves."

Donner was a bit short of breath once everything had been transferred to the asteroid base. Still, it wasn't as bad as the first time he had done it. On the other hand, Warren was still heaving like she had run in a cross country race as she returned from activating the security systems aboard the Hunley. A far cry from the energetic old woman he had first met nearly seven years ago, just a couple of months after the War had ended. Old age had taken a toll in more ways than just a loss of good looks.

Warren grimaced as she watched the surveillance camera track the Hunley's departure. "How much longer 'til that concealed docking area is ready" she asked. "I ain't happy with having to let that A.I. you installed fly the Hunley."

"Should be done in a couple of days" Donner replied. "It's been taking a while for the driller bots to make the entrance look natural."

Warren grunted and said"Well, I'm dead on my feet. I'll be in my bunk."

Warren was heading in that direction when she hesitated as if remembering something and reached into her jacket pocket. Out of it she pulled a memory tab which she tossed over to Donner. Catching it, he asked"What's this"

"Instructions on what to do when I kick the bucket" Warren responded. "I ain't getting no younger, so I wrote up my will while I was on Cronus. I kept it all simple so it shouldn't be much of a hassle. Good night."

Donner shoved the tab in his pants pocket as he switched off the lights in the loading area. Stopping by the galley to grab some protein, he wondered what his future partner would be like. He was sure to find out within a year at the rate Warren was deteriorating. Her irrational distrust of doctors certainly wasn't going to help extend what life she had left. Hopefully, whoever it was wouldn't be prone to ranting about the Alliance. Donner himself couldn't have cared less about who won the War. But Warren seemed incapable of coming to terms with the fact that her side had lost. This hadn't been apparent to Donner until their operation started up and Warren became his sole human contact.

Settling down at his console, Donner started modifying the A.I. for use in the security bots as he munched on the unappetizing protein. He had never bothered to inform Warren that he had acquired it through an inside job in Blue Sun. In her mind, Blue Sun was synonymous with the Alliance and she would go to absurd lengths to avoid buying their products. Uncertain how she would react, he had remained vague about its origins.

Donner's musings were broken when the buzzer went off again, nearly causing him to choke on the protein he was chewing on. He checked the surveilllance camera, hoping it was just the A.I. having detected a glitch and choosing to redock. But the ship on the screen was clearly not the Hunley. The ship identifier program tagged it as a Mosquito-class transport, an earlier variant of the Firefly. It looked as if it was barely spaceworthy. They had almost certainly trailed Warren here. The fact that they took pains to go unnoticed indicated they were up to no good.

Donner went over his options. Exhausted as she was, Warren would be useless. The Mosquito didn't appear to be a very large ship, so probably didn't have much in the way of crew. If he got the drop on them as they came out the airlock, he could take them down. The odds weren't especially good, but there wasn't much else he could do. Opening his desk drawer, Donner removed his 9mm pistol and switched off the safety.

Donner peeked into the loading area. The airlock was closed. There didn't appear to be anyone there. Why were they taking so long to come out?

The shadows formed into an ugly face in front of Donner. A fist struck him and sent him reeling. Two sets of hands pinned him to the floor, knocking the pistol from his grip. A figure stepped out of the shadows, bent over him, and pulled out a knife.

Donner's mind raced, trying to not succumb to panic. An idea struck him. Warren definitely wouldn't be happy, but then it was her fault they were here in the first place. "Hey, that was a real piece of fei oo you came in." Four sets of eyes glared down at Donner, but he continued. "Now you saw the Hunley. She's a shiny looking ship, ain't she" The one he guessed was the leader was looking interested. "Of course, you couldn't get in yourself. The Hunley has security systems out the wazoo. Major systems require Warren's handprints and retinals to operate. And the settings are hardwired. But I can hack around those. I can even temporarily circumvent the hardwiring." Almost immediately, he regretted mentioning the hardwiring at all, having let his nerves get the better of him. There was nothing to be done about it now. "So, how about it"

The leader nodded, but indicated that something else was expected of Donner. He went pale when he realized what they wanted him to do. Well, it wasn't like Warren had much life left in her. And it was her fault they were in this mess in the first place. So he nodded his acceptance.

The three underlings went in the direction of Warren's bunk while Donner sat at his terminal. He linked to the Hunley's Cortex node and began the process. It was more tedious in nature than actually difficult. However, it was made far more stressful by the shotgun aimed at his head the whole time.

The two of them watched the Hunley approach on the surveillance camera and Donner commanded the A.I. to come to a relative stop. He was then guided towards Warren's bunk, from which screams were being emitted. The door opened to reveal the three underlings working her over. When she looked up, the fear on Warren's face was quickly replaced with rage. "You ching-wah tsao duh liou mahng" she shrieked. "You told them where we are, didn't you"

Donner smirked at her paranoid rant. "Actually, they followed you here on their own" he replied. "I'm just being smart enough not to let your idiocy drag me down with you." The leader then gave Donner a knife and he did what was required of him.

Once Warren had finished twitching, they all headed for the loading area. Donner watched as they removed their gear from the Mosquito. Once that was done, the pilot went aboard and detached it from the airlock as Donner had the A.I. dock. Aboard the Hunley, he set up a clock to indicate when the hardwiring would reset. He didn't even dare think of trying to deceive them while he was under their eye.

Once they were gone, it struck Donner how truly humped he was. As long as they continued to use the Hunley, he was effectively chained to them. And if they hijacked themselves a new ship, they could just leave him there to rot.

Donner then recalled the memory tab Warren had given him earlier. Since she was dead, he thought he may as well see what she had to say. He plugged the tab into a port and a video of Warren appeared on his terminal screen. "Unless you've decided to take an early peek, you're watching this because I'm dead. I'll be brief and to the point.

"Concerning my remains, I want you to incinerate them. I ain't chancing some sicko doctor using them to practice his corpse ventriliquism.

"Now in the will I wrote up, my share of the operation goes to my niece Zoe. Send her a Wave with handprint verification explaining what happened to me. Direct her to the law offices of Sheridan and Hooker in Wasatch, where the will is being kept. They'll direct her to Eagle Eye Louie. You'll send him coordinates for her to go to. When she arrives, make sure it actually is Zoe. Her handprints and retinals as well as the Cortex node you can contact her at are included on this memory tab."

When the message ended, Donner checked the node address. The fact that it was for a ship interested him greatly. Perhaps this would provide an opportunity for him to extract himself from his current predictament.

TBC

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Chinese translations

Go se: Dog shit

Fei oo: Junk

Ching-wah tsao duh liou mahng: Frog-riding bastard


	2. Chapter 2

Firefly is the property of Joss Whedon and his new secret masters, blah blah blah. You know the drill.

Beta reading courtesy of Guildsister and Apollo. Reviews are welcome.

For those who have been waiting, I apologize for taking so long. I had a real bad case of writer's block.

For those not up on their Civil War history, the Hunley was a submarine employed by the Confederacy. As would be expected of an early submarine, the thing was a deathtrap. It was propelled by a hand-cranked screw and its armament consisted of an explosive charge on the end of pole affixed to the front of the craft. While you may think it sounds kind of stupid, it was sucessfully used in sinking the USS Housatonic. Alas, the Hunley also got caught in the explosion and went down as well.

Concerning the bits of verse, the first one is from the end of "Ol' Cowpoke" by Gary McMahon while the latter is the modified chorus of "Biscuit Blues" by Bob Nolan.

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After having spent what seemed like an eternity in the more God forsaken regions of the Rim, Serenity had arrived at the relative civilization of Beaumonde. Inara was particularly pleased that she would now be able to find work of her own. Since landing a few hours ago, her schedule had become booked for the week. In fact, she was just about to depart to attend a Unification Day festivity with the prefect's son.

"Okay Inara," Wash stated over the shuttle's radio. "You're clear to go in five, four, three..."

"Wash," Mal's voice interrupted, "has anyone left the boat?"

"Not yet," Wash responded. "Inara was about to go off to some shindig."

"Tell her she'll have to cancel. As soon as Zoe, Jayne, and me are back on board, we'll be leaving Beaumonde immediately."

"Why not tell her yourself?" Inara hissed icily. "What is the meaning of this, Mal?"

"Ran into a peck of trouble," Mal replied. "Figured we should make ourselves scarce before we get I.D.ed and Serenity gets landlocked." And with that, he cut her off.

Inara was furious to say the least. Having her schedule disrupted like this was absolutely intolerable. At the very least, her standing within the Guild would be adversely affected. Inara contemplated the words she would have with Mal as soon as he got back on board.

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_Bustin' bottles and flyin' lead  
__They broke a porch of furniture over my head  
__I had quite a time last night, from what I hear  
__But the mornin' comes and the sun's gettin' brighter  
__I'm sneakin' across the prairie like a spider  
__I hope the sheriff ain't takin' the trail that I'm makin'  
__The fact of wherever it is_

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The next morning, Wash got up well before anyone else and grabbed some protein and instant coffee from the galley before creeping off to the bridge. The confrontation between Mal and Inara the previous evening had been an unpleasant affair which was sure to continue through breakfast. That wasn't something Wash's digestion could take first thing in the morning, especially with their current fare. Thanks to Serenity's abrupt departure, there hadn't been time to restock the galley, leaving them with nothing but protein until they made another stop.

Wash flipped on the Cortex terminal and found a Wave waiting for him. As he read its contents, he cursed a blue streak. Before everyone's evening got disrupted, Wash had been planning to indulge in his guilty pleasure of opera, a dark secret not even Zoe knew about. Now he was being informed by the management of the Trapezium Theatre that his ticket for Hansel and Gretel and Ted and Alice would not be refunded.

As he heard footsteps head toward the galley, Wash decided some music would help to improve his mood. Going through his Riders in the Black sound files, he selected i Protein Blues /i as it was so appropriate. He even sang along to the chorus when it came.

_Protein for breakfast, protein for dinner,  
__Protein for supper, too  
__Have a protein dream most every night  
__Ohhhhhh, I've got the protein blues_

Wash's fun was interrupted when multiple voices yelled at him to bi zuie and informed him of the consequenses of failing to comply. As he sullenly hummed along instead, the Cortex terminal gave off a beep indicating the arrival of a Wave. Glancing at it, he saw it was for Zoe and that it required handprint verification. Wash knew of only one person who sent those sort of Waves, and they hadn't heard from her in two years.

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"Honey! Auntie sent a Wave!"

Zoe left for the bridge, welcoming the respite. The last time Zoe had felt so uncomfortable had been back in Basic during the required viewing of the STD training film i Saving Ryan's Privates /i . And the central reason for the animosity was really quite stupid, at least what she could remember. The pounding headache she had made it difficult to recall the details. Discomfort had converted to aggravation and the urge to resolve the matter in a violent fashion had been strong, even though it could technically have been called mutiny.

Zoe placed her palm against the touch screen and wondered what Aunt Vicky had to say. Likely she was going to recount her own U-Day exploits. So when the text message appeared on the screen, Zoe received a bit of a shock.

_I regret to inform you that your aunt Victoria Warren has recently passed away. The cause of death is unknown, as at the time we were in an isolated area with no access to medical help. Even if there had been some available, it is doubtful she would have accepted it._

_According to the instructions she left me, her share of our current operation, which potentially offers considerable profit, goes to you. I'm not at liberty to discuss the nature of this operation nor reveal my current location in a Wave. The will she wrote is currently held at the law offices of Sheridan and Hooker in the city of Wasatch on Cronus. From there, you will receive further instructions on how to reach me._

_Timothy Donner_

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"Can't say I care for it," Mal said once Zoe finished outlining the contents of the Wave to everyone in the galley. "All we have is this Donner's word that he's ever worked with Aunt Vicky. You ever recall her mentioning him?"

"No sir," Zoe replied. "Of course, we ain't heard from her in a long time. She might have met him fairly recent-like."

"Would it be too much to ask who this Aunt Vicky is?" interrupted Simon.

"She's my dad's older sister," Zoe answered. "She was too old for frontline combat during the War, so she ran Alliance blockades on her ship the Hunley instead. In fact, she was one of the few runners who avoided getting hers impounded."

"Didn't care for signing up as crew for her after the War though," Mal added. "Crazy woman's a gorram control freak. Anyone working for the old paranoid had to quadruple-check every detail before she was even remotely satisfied. Not the sort of life I'd want to lead."

"Yeah, it's more fun to be a paranoid control freak with your own ship ," Wash quipped.

Mal aimed an icy glare at Wash for his smartass crack. "She was also kind of funny about doctors. One of the field medics had some fancy ten platinum word for it I can't recall."

"Iatrophobia sir," Zoe offered.

"Anyway, my point is that she's a difficult person to work for. She mostly worked by her lonesome. Unless this Donner fellow could do something she couldn't, I have a hard time believing anyone would join her in what sounds like a long term venture." Even as he said this, Mal contemplated their current predicament. Thanks to their U-Day shenanigans, they wouldn't be able to show their faces on Beaumonde for the foreseeable future. But then, how was he suppose to have known the obnoxious little puke was the prefect's son. With no cargo and no destination, they didn't have much in the way in options. They could of course go to Triumph and hire themselves to work on Sally Callahan's house. But that was something only for when they were humped beyond hope. Mal found the idea of taking contradictory orders from a madwoman unappealing, even if the money was good. As visions of Serenity mortgaged to the hilt with triple digit interest rates danced through his aching head, he added, "Still, it wouldn't hurt to check it out. Even if it doesn't pan out, we can try to make some new contacts. I don't suppose anyone here has been to Cronus before."

"I was there before the War broke out," Book offered. "Wasatch is the largest settlement. It was quite a lawless place then, with most everything controlled by the various rival Triads. I imagine the only difference nowadays would be if there are any Alliance officials present, they'd be in the pockets of the Triads."

Mal refrained from commenting on what a preacher would be doing in such a planet. It certainly sounded like the sort of place Aunt Vicky might frequent. "Alright, but we ain't going in blind. Zoe, I want you to send Waves to everyone you can think of who might have met Aunt Vicky recently asking about her. Wash, get us pointed to Cronus."

Mal followed Wash to the bridge, where he was poring over some charts. "I can get us to Cronus in a week. However, that's barring any disasters and assumes we don't make any stops."

Mal contemplated the current galley situation, as they didn't even have any canned food to offer some variety. "Do it. I think our stomachs can manage."

Wash groaned quietly. "Okay. Would you mind shutting the door when you leave?"

Mal shrugged and left, closing the door most of the way. As he headed down the corridor, he heard something come from the bridge which made him wonder if his ears were working properly.

"Good day, opera lovers, and welcome once again to _Opera on the Rim_. This is your host Milton Stitch. Today, we are at Old Man Curwen's barn on Whitefall to witness a performance of Mozart's _Don Giovanni_."

Mal stood there stunned. He was all too familiar with Wash's fondness for musical comedies. But could he really be into something as highfaluting as opera?

"Nah!"

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Elijah Hooker was feeling particularly morose as he read a brief concerning his most recent case. It was times like these which made him wonder why he bothered. Virtually every judge in Wasatch was on the payroll of at least one Triad, making trials little more than show. Many times he had considered moving to Persephone or really any world where the law wasn't a complete farce. But each time, his partner Sheridan would go on about the expense of space travel and how the Alliance red tape for setting up a new law practice was such a bitch. Under such an onslaught, his resolve would fade.

Hooker looked up as the door opened and a man's voice said, "I'm telling you Zoe, that guy had a lot of nerve to get all snippy just because I offered to pay the docking fee with an I.O.U." Two people stepped inside. One was a tall, sandy-haired man with piercing blue eyes. But it was the woman who caused Hooker to shudder. Though much younger, the resemblance to Victoria Warren was unmistakable.

The woman walked up to Hooker's desk and stated, "My name is Zoe Warren. My aunt Victoria recently passed away and I'm given to understand you're holding her will."

i That was quick/i thought Hooker. Not too surprising though, as the harridan had looked to be on her last legs when he met her. "Very well. Follow me." Hooker led them to the back of his office where he kept a safe with a biometric lock. Placing his palm against the reader then removing his glasses so his retinals could be taken, Hooker then indicated to the woman to do the same.

Once the lock confirmed the woman's identity, the door of the safe opened, revealing the will and an envelope containing instructions for Hooker. Placing the will on his desk, he explained, "As you can see, the terms of the will are quite simple. You are the sole beneficiary of all of Victoria Warren's business ventures and property. The only specific exception concerns her ship the Hunley, which she insists on having scrapped."

"Scrap a Virginia-class transport?" the man muttered. "The old bat really was fong luh."

As the twosome examined the will further, Hooker opened the envelope. From it, he removed a piece of paper with the war banner of the Independents and what looked to be a unit insignia embossed on it. While reading the instructions, he heard Warren comment, "Well sir, that confirms what Monty said in his Wave. I'd recognize that sorry excuse for a signature anywhere."

Hooker's ulcer burned at the memory. The witnesses for the drafting of the will had consisted of the sort of underworld degenerates who made up much of the population of Wasatch. It had taken all of his self-control at the time to keep from protesting the mockery of legal proceeding. That and the fact they'd been bigger and better armed than he had been.

Warren then looked up and said, "This will mentions a Timothy Donner as the executor. Would you happen to know where we can find him?"

"Not personally," Hooker replied. Then handing over the paper, he continued, "However, according to this, you can find that out from Louis Nathaniel Kent. He's an independent courier better known as Eagle Eye Louie. The address is written here. Just give it to him so he knows it's you."

The man who had accompanied Warren shook Hooker's hand and said, "Thank you kindly for your help. Guess we'll be going now."

Once they had left, Hooker switched on his Cortex terminal. While composing a Wave for Kent informing him that Warren was coming, he stewed over the recent events. The whole affair had been an insult to his integrity. Hooker decided then and there he wasn't going to take it anymore. Once the Wave was sent, he started looking up ship departures for Persephone. Bringing genuine law and order to Cronus was a lost cause, and Hooker was through with the futility.

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"So Wash, have you found out anything about our man Donner?" Mal asked over the radio as he and Zoe entered the seedy apartment building where Eagle Eye Louie lived.

"Not much," Wash replied. "Only found one item in the public records. Apparently, the Alliance had set up shop here about six months before the War ended. Not long thereafter, Donner got caught hacking into the Conscription Board's database. Even taking into account he was a minor at the time, he got a light sentence. Could be he got some legal assistance from a Triad on the lookout for new talent."

"Any better luck asking about on the streets?"

"Not really. Only useful thing we've learned is a little over three months ago, he disappeared without a trace. If anyone we've talked to knows where he's gone, they ain't talking."

"Well, looks like we'll be finding out shortly. Get everyone back on the ship and have her ready to launch in case this Donner is off-world."

Mal and Zoe climbed the rickety stairs until they reached Eagle Eye Louie's apartment and knocked. The door was opened by the most unremarkable man Mal had ever seen, completely devoid of distinctive features. Except for the eyes, which were pale and unfocused.

"You Zoe Warren?" he asked. In response, Zoe handed him the paper. He rubbed his thumb over the embossment, then gestured for them to come in. He went over to and turned on what looked like a Cortex terminal, except it had no screen. "A week ago, I received a Wave containing an audio file and a print-only file. The former tells me to give the latter to a Zoe Warren." Handing them a fresh printout, he added, "All that's to assure you I ain't got a clue about what it says."

Mal and Zoe looked at the printout and saw it contained a series of numbers which looked to be spatial co-ordinates. Zoe then asked, "We hear tell Donner disappeared rather sudden-like a few months ago. You wouldn't happen to be able to enlighten us on that."

"Don't know and don't care," Eagle Eye Louie responded.

From the way he said it, Mal got the impression he wasn't being entirely truthful. "Son, I think it would be in the interest of your good health to give us a straight answer."

"I make it my business not to know things," Eagle Eye Louie countered. "The Triads like that sort of trait in a courier. The Triads also don't take kindly to folks who mess up their status quo. So it's in the interest of your good health to leave and be happy with what you've got."

Mal was tempted to rough him up anyway, but was stayed by the man's confidence. It was the confidence of someone who knew that, whatever was dished out on him, the perpetrators would have it dished back ten fold. Realizing the brief satisfaction from making the twerp's face more distinctive wasn't worth pissing off near every potential client, he said, "Let's head back to the boat, Zoe," and vacated the premises.

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Donner was going over the status reports for the driller bots when the Wave arrived. He opened it even though he was certain of the contents. As he suspected, it informed him that Eagle Eye Louie had given the co-ordinates to Warren's niece. Donner had started to wonder if she'd ever come. He wasn't sure how long it had been since Warren's death. It was so easy to lose track of time when you were alone in the Black.

An alarm went off indicating Donner wouldn't be alone much longer. The surveillance camera confirmed they had returned in the Hunley. This time they used the concealed docking area which had been finished shortly after they had first come. Donner turned his attention to his terminal and downloaded a modified version of the A.I. to a memory tab.

Once he got down to the loading area, Donner found they were just finishing up with transferring supplies from the Hunley. He blinked, as much of the loot was unusual, particularly the real food. Probably they had hit a pleasure yacht belonging to a Triad higher-up. None of the Triads on Cronus had the resources to mount a significant search effort, so he wasn't worried about being discovered. Still, he hoped they would use greater discretion in picking future targets.

Noticing the Captain beckoning, Donner came over and stated, "Got some good news. I have some suckers with a ship coming here. Likely it won't have the same quirks which make the Hunley a pain in the pee goo to fly. Not sure how many'll be coming, so I reckon we should take them down in a sneaky fashion." Handing over a piece of paper along with the memory tab, he continued, "Here's the co-ordinates they'll be arriving at. Once they're there, send the contents of this tab through their Cortex receiver. It has their node and everything."

The Captain gave a nasty grin and indicated to Donner to follow her into the Hunley. He did so, guessing she wanted him to renew the circumventing of the hardwired settings before they had a chance to reset.

Donner received a start when he entered the cargo bay and saw Warren's corpse hanging from the ceiling. While the relatively sterile environment of the ship had prevented significant decay, it still wasn't a pretty sight. As he was led to the bridge, Donner noticed similar forms of redecorating throughout the ship.

Once on the bridge, Donner got right to work. This time, there was no shotgun aimed at his head. He was grateful for that since it meant one less distraction. Not only did he feel an unpleasant burning sensation on his skin, but there was a faint whispering which he couldn't quite make out.

Once finished, Donner exited the Hunley. Shortly thereafter, it detached from the airlock and presumably left for the rendezvous point. It took Donner a bit longer to notice he wasn't alone. He turned and saw it was the first mate, a withered old man who was as ugly as a Companion was beautiful. Though Donner had gotten used to the others, the first mate made him uneasy.

"Why are you still here?" Donner asked, trying to keep his voice calm. As a response, the first mate merely grinned and pointed to the stack of supplies. Donner's stomach churned as it struck him what was being implied. Of course they would be put through the Trial. By necessity, it would have to be far more subtle than Donner's had been. The whole idea actually didn't bother him in the least. So why did he have the urge to vomit?

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"Come on," Mal muttered as he and Zoe strained to keep an unexpectedly berserk River pinned down. "Be a good girl and take your dried frog pills or whatever the hell they- Ow! The little pofu bit me!"

The momentary loosening of Mal's grip was enough for River to break free and sock Zoe in the eye. She then took the opportunity to lunge for a scalpel. Alarmed, Mal tackled her and slammed her against the infirmary floor a bit harder than he would have normally liked. As Simon injected her with a sedative, she shrieked, _"Ph'nglui mglu'nafh wgah-nagl fhtagn! Iä! Iä!"_

Once River was out, Mal turned to the doctor and asked, "Don't suppose you have any idea what set her off?"

Shaking his head in frustration, Simon replied, "As far as I can tell, it came completely out of the blue." He was clearly rattled by his sister's bizarre rant. Even Zoe looked a bit unnerved, though the only reason Mal could tell was because he had known her for so long. It was strange, but he thought maybe he had heard those words somewhere else.

Before Mal could put his finger on it, his thoughts were interrupted by Wash's voice on the intercom. "Mal, we're almost there." Deciding to think on it later, Mal hurried up to the bridge with Zoe close behind.

"Anyone else there?" Mal asked as he entered the bridge.

"Hard to say," Wash responded. "There's a lot of microdebris in the area mucking up the scope. No wait, I've got something. Should be able to see it." Through the canopy, they observed a ship slip behind an asteroid. "Looks like a-"

"Virginia-class transport," Zoe finished. "Reckon it's the Hunley, sir?"

"Be a hell of a coincidence if it weren't," Mal mused. "Wash, give them a buzz."

As Wash attempted to contact the ship and was greeted with static, Mal's ears caught a faint muttering. "Did you say something Zoe?"

An ever so brief blink was all that indicated her surprise at the unexpected question. "No sir."

It was then that the console began making noises which screamed they were humped. "Tah mah de!" cried Wash. "Looks like they transmitted a virus of some kind through our Cortex receiver. It's locked out manual flight control and appears to be taking us on a prearranged course."

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Chinese Translations

Bi zuie: Shut up

Fong luh: Crazy

Pee goo: Rear end

Pofu: Bitch

Tah mah de: Mother fucker


	3. Chapter 3

Firefly is the property of Joss Whedon and his new secret masters, blah blah blah. You know the drill.

Thanks to Guildsister and for beta reading. Feedback will of course be appreciated.

Once again, I'll be making the assumption that Mal and Zoe knew each other previous to the war.

At some point in this chapter, it may seem that Mal is acting out of character. Do not let this concern you, as there is madness to my method. :P

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"Any luck yet?" Mal asked Kaylee, who was attempting to counter the virus.

"The anti-virus software don't even faze it," Kaylee reported. "I've tried a few tricks I know. But everytime I start makin' progress, it's like it figures out what I'm doin' and stops me cold."

"Can any of the programs still run?" Zoe asked.

"Nope. Ain't even got our NavSat connection. Can't be sure where we're goin' now"

Mal looked out the canopy and got an all too clear idea of where they were going. Specifically right smack dab in the middle of one of the larger asteroids. As they got closer though, he saw they were heading towards a cave-like entrance. Serenity flew through the twisted passageway until they came to an airlock. Once Serenity had attached to it, the radio came to life and a voice stated, "Zoe Warren is to come in alone and unarmed. Failure to comply will be considered as hostile intentions and will be responded to accordingly."

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Zoe reluctantly handed over her sidearm to Mal before going through the forward hatch. As was so often the case, they were at a distinct disadvantage. This time however, there wasn't a damned thing they could do about it. Their only hope at this point was that by playing along they might get though this in one piece.

When Zoe opened the asteroid's airlock, she saw whom she assumed to be Timothy Donner. Holding a 9mm pistol aimed at her, he was a thin man of average height with unkempt black hair and dark eyes which constantly darted about. His skin was noticably red, as if he had gotten a bad sunburn recently. From his stance, Zoe could tell that, while Donner was familiar with using firearms, he was no expert. Combined with the fact that he looked to have an acute case of something or other, it would have been a simple matter to disarm him.

But the two bots with the light machine guns discouraged that line of thought.

"Over there," Donner ordered, indicating with his pistol for her to approach a bio-metric reader. Not wishing to find out how trigger-happy Donner or the bots were, Zoe complied. Letting it take her prints and retinals, she held back a sigh of relief when the reader gave off a friendly sounding beep.

Signalling for the bots to stand down, Donner slipped his pistol into a shoulder holster. "Sorry about the unfriendly welcome," he remarked. "But for all I knew, you had gotten mugged and someone else got those coordinates. Can't be too sure about nothing."

_My, he is the paranoid one_, Zoe thought. It was probably why he was able to tolerate working with Aunt Vicky though.

"Before we go further," Donner continued, "I must know how trustworthy your crew is. You've probably guessed this ain't entirely on the up and up, and I can't abide associates who can't keep their traps shut."

It took a second for Zoe to realize that Donner thought she was Serenity's captain. She briefly considered going along with it, but quickly rejected the idea. Not only would it be a good way to piss off Mal, but it could put a crimp in the budding partnership. "I'm just the first mate. However, the crew has done illegal work before and can be relied on to be discrete."

"Good," Donner replied. "I reckon they should come in so I can explain what this is all about."

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Wash could practically feel the release of tension when Zoe returned announcing that everything was shiny and they were permitted to come in. Everyone took up that offer, though River was looking a little doped up. There was much curiosity as to what her inheritance consisted of. After all they went through, it didn't seem likely to be something along the lines of a collection of ugly figurines.

They entered a large room full of crates. Next to a terminal stood whom Wash guessed was Donner, who indicated that everyone should grab a crate to sit on.

"Now, what is it that you and Aunt Vicky have been up to which calls for all of this secrecy?" Zoe asked.

"The secrecy is more than warranted, though it might not be obvious why," Donner responded. "Though I initially had my doubts, Warren and I have managed to make asteroid mining practical."

"Now just one gorram minute," Mal blurted. "I always knew Aunt Vicky was a few cards shy of a full deck. But I never suspected she had gotten down to just a pair of Jokers. The early attempts at asteroid mining were doomed by astronomical overhead and piss poor takings. What made her think this would be any different?"

"I'm not sure what prompted her to do so," Donner replied. "But Warren did some assaying in this asteroid belt and found it contained some unusually high-grade ores. As for the overhead, we've cut that down considerably by employing robot labor. The whole operation is automated and only needs one person to supervise it."

"Don't see how that could work," Kaylee commented. "Robots are fine for takin' out garbage and such, but their programmin' ain't sophisticated enough for workin' in space."

"Yeah, the drone programs on the market ain't up to the job," Donner noted. "But that ain't what we're using. What we've got is, if not a true artificial intelligence, then something damn close. We were able to get an independent company to custom build robots suitable for space operations, since Blue Sun don't regard the Rim as a viable robotics market. So far, we've pulled in enough to cover our start-up costs and then some."

"So why all the hush-hush?" Jayne asked. "It ain't like it's illegal to mine."

"Need to keep away the competition," Zoe remarked. "As long as no one else knows about the mineral wealth here, we get it all for ourselves. But if word got out, every Tom, Dick, and Hongbo with a ship would descend like locusts to stake a claim."

"Then there's the problem of Blue Sun," Donner added. "Much as I'd like to think I could create the A.I. from scratch, it was done by some egghead in Blue Sun's R&D. I merely got it through an inside job. If Blue Sun found out what happened to it, our lives wouldn't be worth a plugged copper."

"That's all well and good," Mal commented. "But I'm curious as to how Aunt Vicky came to her end."

"I ain't no doctor," Donner mused. "If I were, she wouldn't have associated with me. I didn't ask what was wrong since doing so would just piss her off. She kept up with being stoic and pretending nothing was wrong, right up to when she keeled over. Not long before that, she gave me this." And with that, he plugged a memory tab into the terminal which displayed Aunt Vicky's final words.

Once it was finished, Zoe asked, "Where's the Hunley being kept? Is it in some other cavern in this asteroid?"

"I can't say for sure," Donner responded. "The construction of this base was a bit hurried so we could start mining operations. The airlock we used then was on the surface of the asteroid. While the airlock itself can't be seen unless you know what to look for, having the Hunley attached for too long would be calling for trouble. At the time, we could only spare one bot for drilling the tunnel you went through. So what we did was install a copy of the A.I. on the Hunley's computer to fly her around the asteroid belt when we didn't need her. She would return when Warren sent a signal with her prints and retinals for confirmation. Unfortunately, when I found Warren dead in her bunk, she was too cold to register the heat sensors for the print scan. So it's probably out there being evasive, waiting for a signal that won't come. I pity the unsuspecting scavvie who tries to claim her."

Donner paused for a bit, then continued, "I reckon all we need to do is figure out how to go about paying your crew. We can discuss that over supper. The mining has been doing well enough that Warren brought some real food on her last supply run."

Wash perked up when he heard that, and he wasn't the only one. The past week of protein, protein, and nothing but protein had been hard on the stomach and morale. The only one who didn't seem particularly keen about it was River, who muttered, "And welcome all, although the cheer be poor. 'Twill fill your stomachs. Please you eat of it." Then to Donner, she continued, "Why art thou thus attired?"

Wash found himself thouroughly confused. As far as he could tell, there was nothing unusual about Donner's garb. For a second, he looked a little freaked out. But he appeared to have recovered by the time Mal commented, "Don't mind her. She's a bit odd."

Looking a little distracted, Donner added, "I imagine we should have it in your ship's galley. The one here is kind of cramped. Warren and me never counted on having guests."

A while later, Donner entered Serenity's galley carrying a pot filled with what smelled like some kind of stew. Everyone had just been served when River, who had been getting fidgety, yelled, "You can hide behind the numbers, but I won't have your high energy plankton!" And she threw her bowl at Donner, the contents splattering on his shirt.

There was an awkward silence, broken when Mal muttered, "Um, Doc..." Simon responded by escorting River out of the galley, a mortified look on his face. Donner also excused himself, saying he'd be back shortly.

The meal resumed once Donner returned wearing a fresh shirt. Thankfully, he didn't appear to be holding River's behavior against them, though he did excuse himself a few more times. While Mal and Zoe worked out the details of paying Serenity's crew, Wash contemplated the meal in front of him. To someone used to eating real food, it likely would have tasted luh-suh. But a steady diet of protein bars could make bad cooking wonderful in comparison. Even the fact the vegetables were noticeably undercooked reinforced that they weren't the canned variety with all the fiber sucked out of them. And then there was the meat. It had been such a long time since Wash had real meat that he wasn't entirely sure what kind it was. But it was good enough that he decided to go up for seconds, maybe even thirds.

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Donner's attitude towards matters literary was one of indifference. Once he had left school, such knowledge had vacated his head immediately. Except for that one play. It was far too memorable too forget so easily. Indeed, it had come to mind when he prepared them for the Trial.

So when the girl had spouted a line from the play, Donner was certain it was no coincidence. He remembered Johnson's blithering about eerie-ass kids who looked into your mind and concluded the girl must be one. He also recalled what Johnson had said about concentrating on number patterns and had instantly done so. From the girl's reaction, it must have worked. It appeared as if the rest of them thought she was being fong luh, which suited Donner fine. Still, it would be best to avoid her as much as possible while at the same time not appearing suspicious.

As he entered his bunk and tossed his shirt in the hamper, Donner wondered how they had obtained her. Blue Sun wasn't in the habit of giving out free samples. They could have gotten her through an extraction. But that would have required lots of smarts and cash, and they didn't look to have much of either.

As Donner pulled on a fresh shirt, he noticed the first mate was present. "We may have a problem," Donner explained. "I have reason to believe one of them is a mind reader of some sort. From the way she talks, she's scrambled up in the brainpan. Looks like the others ain't caught on. Still, she refused to take part in the Trial and might be trouble."

The first mate sneered in response. "I reckon we should wait," Donner continued. "Go on with the mining operation until their brains are dulled by routine. Give them a false sense of security so they won't know what hit them."

The first mate grinned. The plan was clearly to his liking.

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"Well all things considered, that went fairly well," Mal mused as he entered the cargo bay with Zoe and Inara. "Glad he didn't take River's behavior personal-like."

"I don't know, sir," Zoe commented. "He looked awfully rattled when she spouted that 'welcome all' go se."

"Well it ain't every day a fellow gets treated to gibberish in some highfaluting lingo."

"I don't think it was gibberish," Inara interjected. "Though I can't say for certain which one, I'm quite sure it's from one of Shakespeare's plays."

"That so?" Mal asked. A memory from growing up on Shadow then came to mind. "I recall once seeing this off-world troupe perform a Shakespeare play."

"Shakespeare? You?" There was a hint of derision in Inara's voice.

Before Mal could respond with something equally snide, Zoe intervened. "It's the gospel truth. Though he only went because his ma made him and she had me go along to make sure he didn't skip out."

"Why didn't she go with him herself?"

"Mrs. Reynolds was kind of funny about going out at night. She always stayed indoors after sundown."

"Well, I might not have gone willingly, but I did think it was a damn hi-larious play."

"Yes sir."

"Which one was it?" Inara asked. "Much Ado About Nothing? As You Like It?"

"Don't recall the title. But it was about these two feuding clans and a boy and a girl from opposite sides who fall in love. Kind of stupid, really. But that was part of what made it so funny."

"Um, sir..."

"One bit which had me laughing real hard was near the end. The boy got himself into a duel with a fellow the girl's folks wanted her to hitch up with."

"Sir, I don't think-"

"So when the boy wins, the fellow cries out, 'O, I am slain!' Like we ain't been clued in by the fact that he's got this rutting huge blade skewered through him and, er..." Mal hesitated, noticing the icy glare Inara was aiming at him. "Something wrong?"

"Romeo and Juliet is suppose to be a romantic tragedy," she hissed angrily.

"You're joking, right? The two clans resolved their feud. Ain't no way you could call that an unhappy ending."

"Romeo and Juliet killed themselves!" Inara cried hysterically.

"Is that what's bugging you? Well, they were asking for it. Doing that sort of thing behind everyone's back is bound to lead to trouble." Then something struck Mal. "Wait, I can accept the girl being called Juliet. But Romeo is one dumbass name. Anyway, I'm pretty sure he was called Sam."

"It was Romeo, you uncultured lout!" Inara shrieked before storming off to her shuttle in a huff.

As Mal stood there speechless, Zoe said, "Sorry, sir. But it was Romeo and it was a tragedy."

Her words didn't do any good regarding Mal's ulcers, which were giving him grief again. So he went off in the direction of the infirmary for something which would.

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Simon looked up as Captain Reynolds entered the infirmary. "Ah, Captain. I've been meaning to speak-" and then looked on in horror as the Captain took out some antacid and drank it straight from the bottle. Once Simon managed to find his voice again, he blurted, "Has anyone ever told you how disgusting that is?"

"Zoe has many a-time," the Captain responded. "So don't go thinking anything you say will make any difference. Now you were about to say something?"

"Yes. It concerns Donner..."

"Well, I don't entirely trust the little weasal either. But the deal is good and we can't be too picky about who we work with. Believe me, he's nowhere near as bad as some I've known. And I must say he dealt with your sister's tantrum pretty well."

Wishing to forget the incident, Simon continued, "Actually, that wasn't what I was about to say. Now, I can't be certain without running tests with equipment we don't have. However, from his general air of ill health and the condition of his skin..."

"You saying he's got the Glows?"

Simon winced at hearing the diminutive. "Yes, it appears as if he might have radiation sickness."

Muttering under his breath, Captain Reynolds went over to the intercom and barked, "Kaylee, I need you to grab your Geiger counter and see if the reactor on the asteroid is leaking more rads than is proper."

"Aw Cap, can't it wait 'til tomorrow? I ain't feelin' so good."

"Now look here. I just gave a gorram order. When I order you to do something, you ain't suppose to sit about and whine about how you feel. You say yes sir and _you do it!_ Dong ma?"

Simon cringed. The possibility of radiation sickness was not to be taken lightly, especially since they had no effective way to treat it. Still, using such a harsh tone with Kaylee didn't sit well with him. "Captain, was it really necessary for you to..."

"Look here, son," the Captain interrupted. "I don't know about you. But I ain't happy with the idea of waking up and finding my skin and my hair falling off. It ain't proper to get sloppy with these sort of things, 'cause the Black chews up and spits out anyone who gets sloppy." And with that, he stormed out of the infirmary, taking the bottle of antacid with him.

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The murmuring in Donner's head had been getting loud enough that he could almost make out what it said, so he almost didn't hear the knock. He slid open the door and found the mechanic whose name he hadn't bothered to remember waiting outside. For some reason, she was decked out in a spacesuit. "What do you want?" he muttered irritably.

"The Cap seems to think the reactor here is leakin' excess rads. Would you mind showin' me where it is?"

Donner blinked in surprise. Where did they get such an idea? A possibility then came to mind. He would have to confirm it later though. If he failed to provide the mechanic with access to the reactor, they might become suspicious and think something was up. Since it wasn't like he was hiding anything there, Donner exited his bunk and stated, "Right this way."

Donner watched through the window as the mechanic went over the room with a Geiger counter. Once she was out, she took off her helmet and said, "Well, looks like the rad levels are within an accep- um..." And she immediately bent over and emptied her stomach on the floor. It was the chunky stuff too. Clearly, she had failed the Trial.

Once she was finished, the mechanic tried again. "Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, as I was sayin', rad levels are within an acceptable range. Don't know what got the Cap thinkin' otherwise." Then under her breath, she sulkily added, "The overbearin' hwoon dahn."

Once she was back on the ship, Donner was at his terminal calling up the encyclopedia. As he scanned through the entry, the reasons for the condition of his skin, the vomiting, the crapping, and generally feeling like go se became clear. He had the Glows. They must have been messing about with the reactor on the Hunley. At least his hair hadn't fallen out, so he should pull through.

Donner's thoughts then turned to the Trial. As with the mechanic, the rest of them were likely to fail. This didn't bother Donner in the least. Any ship which carried a Shepherd and a Companion was far too respectable for his liking. Though it would have to wait until they weren't expecting it, Donner would gladly join in punishing them.

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Chinese translations

Luh-suh: Shitty

Fong luh: Crazy

Go se: Dog shit

Dong ma: Do you understand

Hwoon dahn: Son of a bitch


End file.
